Isn't it just the pernicious idea that people always get what they deserve?
I think this is maybe where Joanna's use of the term, "belief," is so
perfect. That is, there is something religious or at least quasi-religious
in the refusal of people to recognize that the world is not fundamentally
just, that people don't necessarily get what they deserve. Gates gets what
he deserves, for his innovation or boldness or "entrepreneurial spirit" or
what-the-fuck-ever, while the homeless guy down the street, well, it's sad,
but he also clearly just didn't work hard enough. otherwise, why would he be
there?

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Yes. I remember talking to a crunchy granola type woman in Calif who believed in Karma.

I asked her whether those who died in concentration camps karmically deserved their fate, and she said Yes.